PITTSBURGH -- Paul Skenes is used to facing All-Star teams. In facing the Dodgers, Skenes took on a similar task.
Against the two-time defending World Series champions, Skenes allowed two runs on six hits while striking out seven across six innings. Pittsburgh’s bullpen went on to allow 10 runs en route to a 12-3 loss Tuesday at PNC Park.
“Probably the best it's been in a few outings, execution wise,” Skenes said of his four-seam fastball. “(We) went to it a little more than we have previously.”
Skenes used the fastball 48 times out of 103 pitches (47%) on the night. Skenes used the fastball 36.2% of the time through his first 12 starts. He said the command of the fastball simply comes and goes as the season goes on. It produced 11 whiffs Tuesday.
Entering Tuesday’s matchup, Skenes went through a rare rough stretch – That is, for his own standards. He hadn’t won a game since May 12, but his ERA was still at 2.83. Pirates manager Don Kelly credited the slight slide to less command of Skenes' off-speed pitches. He threw a career-high 109 pitches against the Houston Astros in his last start.
Skenes started the day facing Shohei Ohtani. The four-time MVP laced the ball at 100.8 mph but right at second baseman Brandon Lowe for the easy putout. Skenes retired the top of the lineup in order on just nine pitches.
As Skenes settled in, the Pirates' offense quickly jumped on Dodgers starter Eric Lauer. Bryan Reynolds and Ryan O’Hearn belted back-to-back homers to give Pittsburgh a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first. Though Los Angeles came right back to cut the deficit to one with a sacrifice fly from Kyle Tucker to score Mookie Betts.
Skenes fell behind in the count multiple times as he failed to locate his sweeper for strikes. However, his fastball blazed by multiple Dodgers hitters.
“I think it was jumping, and paired off of the off-speed stuff played like it normally does with Paul,” Kelly said.
Skenes began to find his strikeout stuff in the third and fourth innings, breezing by stars like Ohtani, Freddie Freeman and Mookie Betts while allowing just a few hits scattered around the innings. Against Ohtani, Skenes forced two ground balls to second base and struck him out on a high fastball. Ohtani entered the game with a home run off Skenes but six strikeouts in 11 matchups.
Facing the middle of the Dodgers order in the sixth, Skenes allowed a one-out double to Freeman to put the tying run at second base. Mookie Betts moved Freeman to third on a groundout and at over the 90-pitch mark, Skenes faced Max Muncy with little margin for error.
On a 2-2 pitch, Muncy bounced a ball past Lowe to score Freeman, knotting the game at 2-2. Skenes walked the next batter, Tucker, and after a mound visit from Kelly, he retired Ryan Ward on one pitch to exit the game tied.
Kelly has made it a trend to visit the mound when Skenes has two outs and is reaching over 100 pitches. He often sticks with his ace.
Skenes threw 62 strikes on the day, just enough to put him over the 60% mark. It was the sixth-worst strike percentage performance of his career. Per Baseball Savant, Skenes’ zone percentage is at 46.8%, 3.5% lower than his previous low in 2024. He’s in the 56th percentile for whiff after going over the 75th percentile the last two seasons.
Still, Skenes’ xERA remains at a career low. Postgame, Skenes said he remains happy with the way he’s been throwing.
However, the winless streak continued for Skenes and the Pirates as they gave him little offense to work with and another bullpen blowup on the back end spoiled a winnable outing.